Ability Means Nothing: The Trials of One Scout
by HakujouSama
Summary: PLEASE READ ME! There is some cussing, but right now it's pretty vanilla. It starts off a bit angsty, but I'm setting the ball rolling for some major conflict, betrayal, and whatnot. There will be a lot of swearing, and possible sex scenes. But no...not a
1. Questioning worth

Disclaimer: Yeah... Yeah... Yeah... I don't own anything. I'm just a biter. P

Minako sat stiffly in her school desk, looking at the paper before her, pencil twirling slowly in her slender hand. She should be concentrating on her exam, but instead her mind was drifting elsewhere. It was drifting among the sweet memories of England, where she was not just a sailor scout... She was Sailor V and she was the star. Biting gently on her lower lip, her mind now lingered on Sailor Moon, and the glory she hogged. Usagi-Chan was one of her best friends, and favorite all around people... But damn it... where was her "Thanks for saving the universe"? She put her ass on the line every battle, and just because Sailor Moon finished off the villain, she was the most important as far as Luna and Artemis were concerned (along with most of the world). Putting down her pencil, she asked to be excused and headed for the lavatory. As she walked, she recalled a battle.

_The beast was hideous... one of the scarier negamonsters they'd fought. Only the inners were battling today, and boy was it a bitch. Sailor Mercury had deployed her Aqua Illusion, only to be entangled in the beast's whip and thrown against the nearby building, her form crumpling into a useless mound on the floor. Sailor Jupiter had gone for her thunderbolt and had been slammed mercilessly down before it could be conjured, parting the earth with the impact then laying motionless. Sailor Mars, relying on her Anti-evil scrolls, had pulled out a bundle, hitting the creature with only one in the shoulder. It did not delay as it charged her, screaming in pain and hatred, ramming her to the earth with the others, a thin rivulet of blood streaming from her nostril as she lay unconscious. Sailor Moon stood motionless, azure eyes wide with fear. Minako (Sailor Venus), had taken the time as the monster brutally rammed Mars to begin her crescent beam. She felt the familiar warmth in her fingertips and the words sprayed from her mouth "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!". It hit the negascum right in the chest. It fell to its knees, it's deadly whip winding around Venus's legs, pulling her from the ground and causing her to slam her head with a dull thump._

_"Sailor Moon! Attack now!" were the last words she uttered, before falling unconscious in the light of Sailor Moon's "Moon Gorgeous Meditation"._

Water was running in the sink, as Minako stared down, apparently unaware. The door opened and she was sharply shaken out of her reverie. Usagi stood in the doorway, smiling at her.

"Mina-Chan! How nice! What are you doing in here?" Her odd pigtails bobbed as she giggled and ran to her friend.

"Oh. Just thinking Usagi-Chan. I'm going to go back to my class. I've been spacing out all hour and I need to finish a test!" She forced a smile and hurried out the door adding "See you at Rei's temple" before she slammed it shut.

Sighing, she reentered her classroom and took her seat. The teacher was glaring at her, so she hurried to mark down answers.

After school at Rei's temple:

"You guys! Is Mina-Chan mad at me? Oh man... did I do something to her? Does she not want to be my friend anymore?" Usagi was sitting around the table, whining to her friends.

"Maybe she finally got tired of you. Lord knows I would have by now, If I spent as much time with you as she has" Rei glowered, a smirk playing about her lips. "Shit... I'm tired of you, and I don't spend HALF as much time with you as she does." She laughed as Usagi took a swing at her and she ducked.

"Now that you bring up the subject, Minako's been quite aloof lately. I wonder if, perhaps, something IS wrong with her." Ami added, a thoughtful smile dancing about her elegant face.

Makoto's brows furrowed slightly, as she spoke "Maybe she's sick and she doesn't want to let us know?"

"MAKO-CHAN!!! Don't talk like that!" Usagi bellowed, causing the other girls to flinch. "Well, either way, I'm going to go find her and see if she's alright!"

Standing up, Usagi strode to the door and threw it open, to find Minako staring her in the face. She yelped, falling backwards with a very ungraceful thud.

"Mina-Chan!" She cried. "I was just coming to look for you!"

As Minako helped her up she smiled. "You guys, I've just been thinking lately... I guess I miss England and my parents a little. If something were wrong, I'd tell you."

"You were listening Mina-Chan? Oh... I apologize." Ami said, a blush tainting her pale flesh.

"As long as you guys weren't gossiping." Minako smiled, and sat down. "I feel better, now though."

They continued their talk, all of them laughing, but still Mina's mind wandered. Maybe the time had come for her to go solo... But for now, the tea was hot and the company was good...


	2. Trouble Brewing

Disclaimer: Yeah, Yeah... still don't own anything.

The sky was dreary, and it was drizzling. It was the kind of stereotypical Monday that made Minako want to curl up and reject the day and all of the trials it would bring. She was contemplating just falling back asleep, when her watch came to life.

"Minako-Chan! We need you! There's a negamonster on the loose, and it's aiming to kill Usagi!" Ami's usually polite voice was hurried, and edged with worry.

"I-I'll be right there..." Mina replied, a small smile playing unnoticed around her lips as she imagined herself saving the useless Sailor Moon. Leisurely, she transformed and headed out the door, to accompany the scouts.

The scene of the attack was a mess by the time Sailor Venus got there. Mars and Jupiter were in fighting stances with their backs to the newly arriving sailor scout, as Mercury ran over to inform her of the problem at hand. The beast's pale flesh was violently contrasted by the thick black tentacles the surrounded his otherwise naked form. Mercury's already hurried explanation was cut short by terrified screams... the screams of Sailor Moon. The beast had wrapped a single pulsating ebony tentacle around her waist as he lashed out at the other scouts. He pulled Moon close against his body, running his forked tongue hungrily against her cheek. An angry howl erupted from Jupiter as she hurled herself forward, foolishly relying on her brute strength to sway the monster and was quickly thrown back. Rei began her flame Mandela, slicing through one of the tentacles. As the severed tentacle fell to the ground, an acrid smoke spewed from the appendage, filling the air, causing Mars and Jupiter to cough and fall to their knees. Mercury did not hesitate to let the mist from her bubbles cloud the area even further, but to no avail. She was knocked harshly to the ground by a frenzy of the thick tentacles. Venus, maneuvering away with one of her super human jumps, called forth her love chain, slamming it directly into the monster's forehead, his body now beginning to disintigrate. Landing gracefully on the ground, the smoke and mist dissipating from the battle scene, Minako squealed happily at her victory.

"Usagi! Are you alright?" Mercury's voice cut through the air and Minako noticed the scouts crowding around Sailor Moon.

Usagi was coughing and looking eagerly from friend to friend, assuring them that she was fine. "You guys... where's Mina-Chan?"

The scouts, belatedly, looked around for the fifth sailor discovering she was nowhere to be seen.

PS: Sorry it's so short!!!


	3. Stormy weather

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon (Did you really think I had enough time on my hands to make something like that up, anyways?)

Chi's note: So... I'm desperately trying to pull this plot together. I have some nasty ideas... I WILL DESTROY YOU SCOUTS!!!... Just not Minako... 'cause... you know... This story's defending her... P.S. I made a boo-boo and put Minako into the same school as Usagi... If memory serves, I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that in the anime, but oh well! One last thing... I plan to put the outer scouts into the mix later on, but not Chibi-Usa... she bugs me. So let's all pretend that she never happened.

"Mako-Chan... have you noticed anything weird about Mina-Chan lately... assuming any of you has seen her?" Usagi's voice cut through the whirrs and dings that filled the arcade.

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon, the kind of Saturday when nothing could possibly go wrong. But things were going wrong. They hadn't seen Mina since Monday... not at school, not after, nor had she been coming to the Temple. Things were definitely going wrong.

"She's been acting pretty weird since that last battle... You think she was hurt badly?" Makoto, taking a slug of her drink, arched her brow quizzically in the direction of Rei. "Whatcha think?... She hasn't been at school lately. I'd have seen her."

"I could consult my flames-"Rei was cut off by the clanging of the bell above the door.

"Mina-Chan! Where have you been all week?!" Ami's voice rose over the babble of the shop, to carry towards the door.

Usagi, eyes alight, hopped out of her seat and ran over to Minako. "I've- WE've been so worr-"

"Save it, princess." Minako's voice was hard, and edged with a poisonous undertone. Shoving Usagi aside, she strode over to the table where the other three scouts sat. "I'm tired of fighting for the cause, with no recognition. I've been thinking all week, and have decided something. I quit." Throwing down the watch that connected them all to each other, she strode from the arcade, without another word.

Today was the kind of Saturday where nothing should go wrong, but around Usagi, things were falling apart. She looked sadly outside to notice, for the first time, that clouds were gathering to the west. A storm would be heading their way. And from the look of the fluffy, ebony formations... that storm would be monstrous.

Minako walked slowly, savoring her final moment of triumph. Her hair rippled in the cool breeze as she strolled, like golden waves. She had finally won.

"MINAKO!!!!"

The shout startled her, causing her to whirl around. Makoto stood facing her, backed by the other three scouts.

"What's your problem, huh? If this is a joke, this is not funny! You can't just quit the scouts! We're a team... a family!" Desperation coated Makoto's words, like a thick syrup.

Calmly, slowly, and with a knowing grin, Minako stepped closer to her former team members. "A family? We were never a family. We were never even a team." Sighing exaggeratedly, she pointed a single finger in the direction of Usagi. "We were back-up... security guards... support. We were support for her. For the moon princess. I'm done being support. I have talent, Makoto! And I do _not_ plan to waste my talent on an ungrateful little failure, who hogs the glory." Clenching her fists, and sneering at the sight of Usagi's tears, she turned quickly on her heel and disappeared around the corner. The remaining four scouts were left simmering in their own stunned silence.

"I just don't understand why she'd do a thing like that..." Haruka sat, stunned, as a tearful Usagi spilled her guts.

"SHE QUIT!" Usagi bellowed. "She... just... left." Letting her head fall, she surrendered to the roiling emotions in her body, sobs wracking her helpless form.

The soft melodic music emanating from the two violins stopped suddenly. "Usagi. Did Minako give you her transformation wand as well?" Michiru looked thoughtfully at the pitiful moon princess, but was answered by Ami.

"No, Michiru-San. Only her watch." Ami's eyes drifted from the contrastingly cozy surroundings, to the blustery storm that seemed to be building as she watched.

"Trouble is brewing... Building like menacing flames... no offense Rei-Sama." Hotaru clutched at her violin, knuckles even paler then her skin. Her mauve eyes darted from scout to scout.

"I feel it too, Hotaru-Chan." Rei sighed, eyes downcast.

Standing in the doorway, eerily placid, Setsuna watched and listened to the other young women. "When the time comes, scouts, we will have to extinguish the flames... but for now. We wait."


End file.
